환영

Course Overview

Stage 5

The junior course in Korean encompasses a study of language and customs and traditions focusing on such topics as My Personal World and Travelling in Korea. Students are expected to complete weekly packages of work and are well supported by the teachers as they are offered a variety of methods of learning including regular contact by phone or computer if this technology is available to the student. Students are assessed in a variety of ways including classwork, an exam and a major project on Korea.

Any student enrolling in Korean at Open High School has his/her study background checked to determine whether they are a Background Speaker or a Continuer according to the Board of Studies rules. Stage 5 students who are clearly going to be Background Speakers in Stage 6 are given a program of study which prepares them for the Background Speakers course should they undertake it in Stage 6.

Stage 6

Korean Continuers

As with all Continuers courses students study topics focusing on their Personal World, Korean Speaking Communities and Global Issues such as those confronting youth and women both in Australia and in Korea. The course is delivered in the form of weekly packages of work presented in booklet and CD Rom form. Students can interact with their teachers each week via telephone lessons. Each term there is a face-to-face lesson where all members of the class can meet each other.

School visits by the teacher can be arranged to enhance the learning experience.

Korean Background Speakers

Students with experience in the language will find the Background Speaker course an interesting experience as they are able to maintain a knowledge of their own culture and language. In both the Preliminary and HSC course students study a variety of interesting contemporary issues such as Youth Culture, Cultural Identity and Global issues including mass media and the environment. These issues are presented in a variety of different text types with a study of examples of Korean literature and film in the HSC course only. Background Speaker Courses usually complement the study of English and are valuable addition to any students’ education.

The course is delivered through packages of work, a face-to-face lesson once a term and school visits and lessons via the telephone on request.

Course Materials

Textbooks

The following is a list of learning materials which need to be purchased for the specified course. All prices are approximate.  If a course is not listed, the materials are provided by Open High School.

HSC Courses

Korean Background Speakers

• Variety of set texts

$100 approx

Dictionaries

All students should have a comprehensive language dictionary. Please consult the Korean faculty for advice re dictionaries.

Stage 6 Syllabuses (From Board of Studies)

Click here to go to our Syllabus Downloads page - choose your language and then download the relevant syllabus.

National Anthem

National Emblem

Country Map

Country Overview

South Korea occupies the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula, which extends some 1,100 km from the Asian mainland. This mountainous peninsula is flanked by the Yellow Sea to the west, and the Sea of Japan (East Sea) to the east. Its southern tip lies on the Korea Strait and the East China Sea.

South Korea can be divided into four general regions: an eastern region of high mountain ranges and narrow coastal plains; a western region of broad coastal plains, river basins, and rolling hills; a southwestern region of mountains and valleys; and a southeastern region dominated by the broad basin of the Nakdong River. South Korea's terrain is mostly mountainous, most of which is not arable. Lowlands, located primarily in the west and southeast, constitute only 30% of the total land area.

About three thousand islands, mostly small and uninhabited, lie off the western and southern coasts of South Korea. Jeju-do is located about 100 kilometers off the southern coast of South Korea. It is the country's largest island, with an area of 1,845 square kilometres. Jeju is also the site of South Korea's highest point: Hallasan, an extinct volcano, reaches 1,950 meters above sea level. The most eastern islands of South Korea include Ulleungdo and Liancourt Rocks, while Marado and Socotra Rock are the southernmost islands of South Korea.

Official Language Of

Korea (South) and Korea (North). Also spoken in China, Japan and Thailand.

Total Number of Speakers

More than 78 million

Language Family

Language Isolate

Writing System

Hangul - a phonemic alphabet organized into syllabic blocks. Each block consists of at least two of the 24 Hangul letters (jamo), with at least one each of the 14 consonants and 10 vowels. These syllabic blocks can be written horizontally from left to right as well as vertically from top to bottom in columns from right to left.

Language Overview

Korean is the official language of North Korea and South Korea. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers. It was formerly written using Hanja, borrowed Chinese characters pronounced in the Korean way. In the 15th century a national writing system was developed by Sejong the Great, currently called Hangul.

The genealogical classification of the Korean language is debated. Some linguists place it in the Altaic language family, while others consider it to be a language isolate. It is agglutinative in its morphology and SOV in its syntax.